BIHAR
- Licence mandatory for selling tobacco products
- The advisory issued by Patna municipal corporation on November 3, ordering tobacco sellers not to sell any other nontobacco products like bread, candies, water bottles etc under one roof and to obtain license for selling tobacco products before December 1, is yet to be implemented in the state capital.
- However, only those tobacco sellers who have obtained their licence before December 31 will be allowed to sell the products, and the rule will be strictly implemented in January.
- HT talked to several tobacco retailers of Patna and found that most of them were not even aware about the advisory, while those who knew, said that the order is undemocratic.
INTERNATIONAL
- Saudi Arabia, UAE introduce VAT in first for Gulf
- Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates introduced value-added tax, a first for the Gulf which has long prided itself on its tax-free.
- The five percent sales tax applies to most goods and services and analysts project that the two governments could raise as much as $21 billion in 2018, equivalent to 2.0 percent of GDP.
- The other four Gulf states, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman and Qatar are also committed to introducing VAT but have delayed the move until early 2019.
· Israel Withdraws from UNESCO
- Israel filed notice to withdraw from the UNESCO alongside the United States.
- Israel has blasted UNESCO in recent years over the organization’s criticism of Israel’s occupation of East Jerusalem and its decision to grant full membership to Palestine in 2011.
- Israel was the member of UNESCO since 1949. Both Israel and the US have filed its own withdrawal notice in October 2017.
NATIONAL
· India Hosting 10 ASEAN Leaders on Republic Day 2018
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the Republic Day celebration in 2018 would be “remembered through the ages”because the government for the first time in India’s history would host leaders of 10 ASEAN countries as chief guests on 26th January 2018.
- “The Republic Day will be celebrated with leaders of all 10 (Association of Southeast Asian Nations)ASEAN countries coming to India as chief guests.
- This time, not one but 10 chief guests would grace the Republic Day.
- Maneka Gandhi to inaugurated online portal ‘NARI’
- In a big leap forward to empower women, the Minister of Women & Child Development, Smt Maneka Sanjay Gandhi has inaugurated an online portal NARI in New Delhi.
- Developed by the Ministry of Women & Child Development, the portal will provide women citizens with easy access to information on government schemes and initiatives for women.
- Further to provide a platform for NGOs and Civil Societies to interact with the Ministry of Women & Child Development, e-Samvad portal has also been developed which was inaugurated by the WCD Minister.
- The NARI portal summarizes over 350 government schemes and other important information for the benefit of women, with more being added everyday.
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